The Mystery Shop performed our first show on February 17, 1989.
How it all began
Way back in the Fall of 1988, several of us were involved in community theatre. We were approached by a guy who owned a Bed and Breakfast in Wheaton, Illinois. He said he need to bring in weekend business and asked if we could put together a murder mystery weekend.
It took us several months to write the script, and it was designed specifically for the Inn. It was an overnight mystery. We performed for the guests on Friday night with lots of clues, codes, etc. Then the audience retired for the night and we hid clues all around the Inn during the night (like a scavenger hunt). We wrapped everything up on Saturday morning as the guests had their breakfast.
We were commissioned for a three weekend gig at the Wheaton Inn. After the very positive feedback from the audience, we decided to make this a real business and thus The Mystery Shop was born. Current owner Mary Heitert quit her “day job” in March of 1989 and has been running the business ever since.
The present
As of today, we have performed over 3200 shows for a wide range of audiences. Here is just a sample of the types of groups The Mystery Shop is perfect for:
After school programs
Anniversary parties
Apartment/Resident parties
Associations and Clubs
Bachelor/Bachelorette parties
Bar/Bat Mitzvahs
Birthdays (adults or children)
Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts (Blue & Gold)
Break-out meetings
Camps
Christmas/holiday parties
Churches/Religious organizations
Client/Member appreciation events
Colleges/Universities
Corporations
Couples clubs
End-of-the-year parties
Family nights
Festivals/picnics/block parties
Fund-raisers
Girl Scouts/Brownies
Graduation parties
Halloween parties
Hotels
Libraries
Lock-ins/overnights
Luncheons
Meeting or Party Planners
Museums
New Year’s Eve parties
Park Districts/Recreation Centers
Political fund-raisers
Post-proms
Restaurants
Retirement parties
Reunions
Schools (Grades K-12)
Seniors
Showers (bridal, baby, etc.)
Singles Groups
Social events
Spouse activities
Staff/employee parties
Sweet 16’s
Team building activities
Teen mixers
…. Or just for fun!
The Future
Our future is entirely up to you! Book your Mystery Shop programs now: tms@TheMysteryShop.com or call 630-690-1105.
We’ll be happy to clue you in!
